


George Crabtree - Teenage Monster Hunter

by PretzelWatts



Category: Murdoch Mysteries
Genre: 1980s, Aliens, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Gen, Ghosts, High School, Monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PretzelWatts/pseuds/PretzelWatts
Relationships: Emily Grace/Lillian Moss, George Crabtree/Emily Grace, Henry Higgins/Ruth Newsome, William Murdoch/Julia Ogden
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	1. The Players

Like many people, George believed in monsters when he was little. He loved reading comic books about monsters and watching their movies, as amazed by them as he was afraid, if not more so. Of course, most people reach a point in their lives at which they stop believing in monsters, or their belief grows to the point of them wearing tinfoil hats or living alone in the woods. George didn't necessarily go either way. He kept strong and argued his logic, hopeful and optimistic, always speaking of the supernatural like oxygen: we cannot see it, but it is there, and the world would be very different without it.

By high school, knowing about "faerie tale" creatures was no longer considered cool. Even the Reverend lost his patience with the no longer small boy's musings, calling beliefs in ghosts and other mysterious creatures ungodly and pagan. As a result, George found other interests, still reading comics, but talking less of the beings in them as if they were real.

Strangely, the boy who gave George the most trouble at school was Gus Jackson, known to the boys as Slugger. Slugger, obviously, loved baseball. It was his life. And, like many a sportsman, the boy had several obsessive superstitions. "What's the difference," George asked Slugger one day, "between believing that touching an old statue before a game gives you luck and believing that statue is a magic spirit or an alien, perhaps?"

The question had been answered with laughter from Slugger and the baseball team and a shove up against the wall. That, however, took place in baseball season and there was a lot of pressure on Slugger from the team. During the rest of the year, George and Slugger were friendly, if not friends. They would eat lunch together along with Henry, a boy that George had known since kindergarten.

Another person that liked to question George's beliefs was the boy's next-door neighbour, William Murdoch. William went to an all-boys catholic school, paying tuition with money from his own jobs, as his father was known by the public to be a drunk and William, his siblings, and his mother before she died, were often seen with bruises or even lash marks from a belt. William did his best to protect his siblings when his father came home late, he ended up with the worst of the thrashings.

William's objections to George's ramblings were mostly based in scientific evidence as, other than god, William didn't believe in anything that couldn't be proven to exist. The difference in opinion between the neighbours fueled friendly debate and interesting conversation, to the point that both boys wished the other went to their school.

George's closest friend was Henry Higgins, a slightly younger and much more naïve boy who excelled in shops classes and not much else. Henry liked girls and sweets and wanted to be allowed to smoke and drive a nice car like his father. Henry made a good sidekick for George, a good friend.

One autumn weekend, not long after the beginning of George's sophomore year, George got together with his friends to hang out in the park. At noon, George and William rode up on their bikes to meet with Henry, Slugger, and a girl George had never met, Julia Ogden. The boys hopped off of their bicycles as they neared the picnic bench, George leaning his on a tree and William taking the extra time to lock his bike to the fence. The five teenagers sat around the picnic bench and began to eat their packed lunches and enjoy each other's company. Before William could introduce Julia to George, she stuck out her hand to him.

"Hello, you must be George. Pleased to meet you, I'm Julia."

George smiled and shook the hand, then looked to William. "So this is the girl you can't stop talking about," he joked. In response, Julia smiled confidently and William blinked in silence. He didn't speak until Slugger asked how they met.

"She was approaching my scout troop, hoping to get in, but the scouter deemed it against the tradition. I wanted to know why she wanted to join, so I went over to talk to her before she left."

Julia cut in. "I was angry and disappointed at the time, especially seeing that Scouts Canada started accepting girls a decade ago, but I held it together for our conversation once I realized that he wasn't going to bully me. It turns out that we have a lot in common, so we've been keeping in touch."

"You have a lot in common with him? I'm not sure I need two of you." George smiled, as did the others, before Julia's response came.

"We merely both have interest in science and the world. We also both happen to be juniors in private schools, though I would go to public school if I had the choice." The girl's golden hair was hidden by a red cap and the knees of her blue and white pinstriped pants were grass-stained. In other words, she looked like she would fit in at public school. As for William, he always dressed so formally and kept so clean and proper. As great as George thought it would be to have another friend at his school, he knew that William's school was the perfect fit.

"How old are you, Julia," George asked.

"Sixteen," the girl answered, "you?"

"So am I, and Slugger, Henry is 15." George gestured to Henry and Slugger who were now racing to finish their lunches. "Guess that means you're still the oldest, Will, so you have to supervise us kids."

William shrugged. "I don't see it having to do with age at all. I would still be in charge if Henry were twenty."

Henry turned at the sound of his name. "Yessir," he smiled.

Julia laughed a clear and merry laugh, bringing a look of satisfaction and accomplishment to William's face. George nodded along, surprised by William's frankness that could come at the expense of his perfectly polite reputation. Where was the boy George was friends with? George questioned silently, but saw on his friend's face a small look of regret.

"Nothing, Henry, carry on."

"So, gentlemen," the girl hummed curiously, "what do we have planned for this afternoon?"

George shrugged and William gave a sympathetic nod before both boys looked down the table towards Henry. "You'll have to ask him."


	2. The Tree

"Done," Slugger shouted enthusiastically as he slammed his hands on the table. Henry had to forfeit as he had packed himself an enormous piece of cake that he refused to scarf down too fast.  
"Henry," William, George, and Julia miraculously said in unison.  
"What?" He spoke with a full mouth.  
"What's on the agenda this afternoon, Higgins," William asked formally.  
"Oh!" He stood up excitedly and swallowed his mouthful. "I found this wicked tree down the hill last time I was here and I wanted to show it to you guys, especially you, George."  
Slugger shook his head. "A tree? There are trees everywhere, there's even one in your yard" he punched his friend on the arm, "What's so special about this tree?"  
"Follow me and I'll show you!"  
Henry got up and snapped close his lunchbox, taking it with him as he started marching towards the lower, forested half of the park. Slugger shrugged and ran to his side, then came George, William, and Julia.  
George took in the beauty of the area as he entered the forest, the leaves beginning to tinge with yellow and orange, preparing to fall. Squirrels darted around in his every direction and an elderly man walked his schnauzer across the way. Below his feet, George could hear the crunching of leaves left over from previous years, yet to fertilize the stringy grass and the dry burdock plants taking their chance to disperse their fluffy white seeds through the air. Before he knew it, George was standing alongside the others, looking at the huge, craggy tree in front of them.  
"Isn't it gnarly," Henry enthused.  
"Quite literally," was William's response.  
Slugger shook his head. "It's cool, I guess, but don't see why it's special yet."  
"Well," Henry sighed as he stepped closer to the tree, "Race you to the top!"  
Slugger was not the type who could say no to a competition, so he ran and jumped on the tree, starting to climb. The already leafless monster was covered with knots, nooks, and branches, making it easy to climb. Julia started climbing behind, curious as Slugger overtook Henry and made his way up to the highest possible branch.  
"I win! Again."  
Henry, a much smaller guy than Slugger, met Sluggers level, then climbed out further onto a limb. "You're not at the top yet!"  
And so Slugger climbed higher and out onto a thinner branch. Too much thinner, evidently, as it broke from his weight, sending him on a rough trip down to the ground, a cruel but fortunate twist of fate breaking his fall with a prickly burdock bush. Julia jumped down from her place on the trunk and Henry slid down backwards, covering the back of his pants with sap.  
William and George got to him first and helped him out of the bush, then Julia arrived and did some first aid on the boy's wrist which was causing him pain. Lastly, Henry dragged his feet over to the others guiltily and stood in silence.  
"I think it's broken. Might be sprained though," Julia said as she finished splinting the wrist, "we should go to the hospital."  
"Crap! My dad's going to kill me! He really wanted to watch me play football this year." Slugger stood up and held his wrist with his other hand.  
Henry spoke up quietly. "Sorry, Slugger."  
"You owe me"  
Sighing, Henry nodded. "Pepsi?"  
"You know it," he said as he started walking out of the forest, closer to where they met up. He was limping a little, but his legs seemed fine overall. All of the teens stopped at the picnic table and made their plan. Henry was going to the corner store to buy a Pepsi and George would go with him to see if he could use their phone. Julia was to stay at the park with Slugger, and William insisted on staying with them.  
And so those who needed to be were off. George and Henry walked side by side on the sidewalk. "You know," Henry began, "I'm gonna get a Nintendo for my birthday."  
"Really? That's cool." George was excited. He knew he wouldn't get one, he was a foundling raised by ex women of the night and a reverend of a small congregation, making his wealth less than voluminous. He was glad he would get a chance to play some new games, as Henry was sure to invite George over sometimes. "How do you know you're going to get one?"  
Henry shrugged. "Because I told my mom I want one."  
George laughed, incredulous. "I'm sure you told her you want a lot of stuff. That doesn't mean you're going to get any of it."  
"Sure it does," the boy responded as he pushed open the door of the corner store and picked a bottle of Pepsi out of the fridge. George went up to the counter.  
"Do you have a phone I can use? Our friend got hurt so we have to call his parents."  
The man looked at George, then at Henry, then back at George. "Alright, but no funny business." He picked up and moved the phone to the counter near George.  
"Thanks."  
As George started dialling Slugger's number, Henry went up to the counter beside him and placed down some coins alongside the soda bottle.  
The cashier counted the coins. "You're ten cents short, kid."  
"George?" Henry tapped his friend on the shoulder and he didn't even look up from the phone, pulling a quarter out of his pocket and handing it to Henry. "Thanks."  
"No problem," George said, holding the receiver up tho his head to hear the dial tone. "What happened to your allowance?"  
"Cake."


	3. Fortunate Alliances

Back at the park, Slugger was stubbornly refusing help, turning away from Julia who, with her hands in stylish leather riding gloves, was trying to pick burrs off of the boy's clothes.  
"I'll do it myself, let me be," Slugger pleaded, with success. Julia gave a quiet sound of frustration and walked away, sitting herself on top of the other side of the next picnic table. William sat himself next to her, noticing her tense body language.  
"I'm sorry that this didn't turn out to be such a good time."  
Julia looked at him, smiled, then started to laugh. William hadn't meant to be funny, but he saw how Julia found it so.  
"I think your friends are fascinating! I merely wish that Mr. Jackson were more cooperative!"  
"Yes," Murdoch said cautiously, not 100% sure they were out of Slugger's earshot, "we all thought he was a stubborn brute when we first met him, obsessive, overindulged, but we all grew to like him, as will you, no doubt."  
Julia put her hand to her hip in thought. "If you all thought so little of him, why did you choose to get to know him better?"  
"Well, I trust George. He said Slugger was a good guy. I also admit I looked into him a bit, as George is sometimes... impressionable. He is also quite smart, however. When Slugger bullied him he never let it get to him, he never fought back, he saw a friend where others would see an enemy. Then there's Henry. He's a surprisingly good judge of character. Those three get along inexplicably. I've tried to figure out why their friendship works, but I cannot."  
Julia nodded. "And you, Mr. Murdoch? How do you fit into the mix? Most people of your... character hang out with academics or even adults, yet you are friends with -from what you've told me- a creative type, an athlete, and a... well, Henry."  
"I understand what you're saying, but I propose that you are only focusing on our differences, rather than our similarities, on what separates us, rather than the qualities that make our alliance ideal. George and I, for example, are next door neighbours. We both have a desire to know the truth. And, where we differ, we compliment each other. We debate and learn the merit of each other's views, we get ideas."  
"And in that time, you get to know each other and form a relationship."  
"Exactly." William smiled. Julia smiled back, brightly. They sat in silence for a few moments. "Of course, that's not to say that I do not also enjoy the company of more academically-minded-"  
"Of course not," she interrupted, feeling significantly better than before their conversation.  
"And what of your friends, miss Ogden? I can't imagine that they are anything like you."  
"Why is that?" She raised an eyebrow.  
"I only mean that you are unlike anyone I have ever met. In a class of your own."  
She paused. "Thank you. I- Oh, they're back!" She pointed towards the two figures, one enthusiastically explaining something to the other, who was holding a bottle of Pepsi. William walked towards them calmly with Julia. "Ah, what have you, George?"  
Slugger jumped up and approached them.  
As he grabbed the Pepsi bottle and opened it, he looked to George, concerned. "Did you get a hold of them?"  
"Yes," George answered. Seeing his friend's expectant expression, he continued. "Your dad is bringing the car. He'll be here any minute now."  
Slugger crossed his arms. "We should have just biked to the hospital."  
"Your parents were going to find out eventually, no matter what you did."  
Henry nodded to George's response. "Plus, you don't keep your health card on you, do you, Slugger?"  
"Yeah, but still..." Slugger sat himself back down at the table, watching the road for his dad's car.  
After a few minutes, a brown '83 Toyota Corolla rolled up to the curb and all five teenagers approached it. The driver's window rolled down.  
"Gus, get in the car."  
Slugger shot a sarcastic and dreadful look to the others before replying. "Yessir. Bye guys, see you at school, George, Henry." He then walked around the front of the car and got in the passenger seat.  
"It was right of you to call, George," sighed the deep voice of Mr. Jackson, before he rolled up the window and drove off, leaving the now four youth on the curb, unsure of what to do next. Julia was the first to say what they were all thinking.  
"So what now?"  
"Umm... hey, Henry, do you still need help with that English homework," George hummed.  
"Yeah, actually. My place?"  
George nodded and looked to William and Julia. "You coming?"  
"I have homework to do too," Murdoch said, "I'll see you later, guys."  
"I should go as well, my parents will be expecting me," Julia stated politely.  
"Alright, see you, then." George walked to his bike, and the others did the same, then the four started off in three different directions.  
By the time George and Henry had finished, the sun was already beginning to set. Henry's mother had generously made extra supper so George could eat, so he wasn't hungry as he rode back in the direction of home. When he rode past the park, however, something possessed him to turn back. Once again, George leaned his bike on a tree by the picnic tables and, alone this time, ventured into the small forest. His Aunts surely wouldn't worry if he stayed out here for a few minutes, he had called home from Henry's, so he wouldn't be missed until 9:30, a half hour after the sun would have fully sunk away.  
When the fading light of the sky was blocked out by the many living pillars surrounding him, George pulled out his keys and turned on a small flashlight that was chained to them. At last, he found his way to that tree, and was struck by a feeling of its powerful pull. After sitting himself at its roots, a spider seemed to float down onto his knee on a silver thread.


	4. Webster

It took George a moment to notice the tiny, dark-coloured creature, but, when he did, he jumped, startled, causing it to scurry away. Interestingly, however, George watched it calmly return, once again sitting on his knee. George didn't know what it was, but there was something strange about this spider, so he kept a careful eye on it.  
The spider looked up at the boy and recognized him from the group of teenagers earlier. One of the group broke the branch he lived on and sent him tumbling down into a bush. It is hard work to get back up in a tree from the ground when you are a half-gram arachnid, so the spider was bitter. This boy wasn't the one he was angry with, though, so he didn't mind sitting on the boy's leg. He was also curious, this spider. It couldn't be a coincidence that the boy was drawn back here, to the scene of the disaster, could it? Could it be that the boy was called to the tree by the spider's S.O.S. signal? The spider resolved that, if the boy was some sort of magical being, he would be able to hear his transmissions, so he closed his eyes and said, "Hello. I am Webster"  
Some unusual feeling washed through George's mind, then pulled away like the tide. He smiled at the tiny thing. "Hi there, spider. I'm George. I think I'll call you..." for some reason, only one name came to mind. "Webster."  
Webster jumped, amazed, and, seeing this, George laughed. "You're an intelligent little guy. I swear you can understand me."  
Webster then crawled onto George's hand and up to his wrist, on the band of his wristwatch. Seeing the time, George was surprised.  
"Oh, well, I've got to go. See you around, Webster." He stood and let the spider crawl back onto the tree before turning to walk away. As he began his retreat, however, Webster jumped onto his back silently. It's not like Webster had a web in the tree anymore, nothing was keeping him there.  
When George got on his bike and resumed his ride home, Webster had to hang on tight. It was a slightly terrifying, but invigorating experience. Webster managed to secure one of his threads to a snag on the back of George's windbreaker jacket, letting him be pulled behind gleefully like a kite in the wind. Then, George stopped as he was in front of his house. Webster fell, hanging from the jacket, and heaved himself up the thread. When George walked in the house, he was greeted by his aunts with a kiss on the cheek from each of them, then allowed to go down the hall to his small room, where he shedded his windbreaker onto his desk and threw himself on his bed with an annoyed sigh as he realized that he should have hung up his jacket on the hook. He stood once again and walked over to his desk and lifted up the jacket to see, on top of his open comic book, was that spider. The page Webster had landed on was the inside of the back cover and had a maze drawn on it as a fun bonus. George never did them, really, he refused to write on his comic books, same as he refused to write on fine literature, so the maze was blank.  
Webster loved a bit of fun. He had never seen a maze before, but it was in his nature to stay within the black lines. He moved on his way through the labyrinth, George cheering him on from above. Even though he couldn't see the whole maze from where he stood, he made it to the exit with only one wrong turn.  
"Good job, bud," George said, then turned off the light and went to bed. Webster climbed to where the wall met the ceiling in the corner and started weaving himself a new home.  
The next day, George's alarm shook him awake at 7:30. As George took a shower, Webster groggily descended from the ceiling, he had been looking forward to a good day's rest, but was woken by an infernal beeping from below. Webster landed on top of the digital alarm clock and climbed onto its glowing face, feeling the warmth of the clock against his minuscule body. The creaking of the door when George opened it to continue his morning routine startled Webster who sprung up in the air, falling into a dark, unknown location.  
George yawned as he pulled on jeans and a purple t-shirt, then moved his way over to his dresser and combed his hair meticulously in front of the mirror sitting on top of it. George quite liked his hair messy, but his aunts always insisted that he look presentable in public. In fact, they didn't let him out of the house if he wasn't clean and well fed.  
Wanting to get into school early to meet with Henry and Slugger, George grabbed his backpack and windbreaker and shot up the hall to the kitchen.  
"Good morning, Georgie," Aunt Azalea hummed, her words echoing among the other three.  
"Good morning aunties, I'll be heading out. Have a lovely day." He walked straight towards the door, but found himself blocked by his Aunt Primrose.  
"Not in those trousers, you won't, they're stained!"  
"Oh, let the boy be," Aunt Iris sighed between sips of coffee. Primrose put her hands on her hips in frustration with Iris until Aunt Petunia spoke up with her quiet, sweet voice from over by the stove.  
"You haven't had a single bite to eat, Georgie, have a seat. Ham and eggs."  
George knew better than to disobey, so he sat down and awaited his meal. When it came, he doused it with ketchup and ate at a calculated speed at which Azalea wouldn't call him out on eating too fast to taste the food. At last, to the sound of Aunts Primrose and Iris bickering, George made it out the door and down the road on his bicycle. He made it to school on time for first period, but not to meet his buddies.  
After dozing off in the darkness for an amount of time,Webster awoke again, this time to light above him. He looked op to see George's face, so he jumped upward, onto it. George, for some reason, swatted him off, confusing Webster to some extent. Instincts kicked in and Webster played dead, scared of George's sudden hostility.  
"What were you doing in there," George said before looking at the spider upside down on the floor. "Uh oh, you okay there?" George carefully picked up the spider and put him in his palm. With the other hand, he zipped up his backpack and walked down the hall and into his biology lab, sitting at his favourite spot near the window and placing the spider on the desk in front of him. "Webster?"  
Webster opened his eyes and turned over.  
"I'm okay," the arthropod seemed to silently say, to George's relief.  
"Sup, George," a new voice called from behind as a textbook came flying onto the next spot at George's desk.  
"Hey, Emily." George smiled as the brown-haired girl sat herself beside him. She looked on the desk in front of him.  
"Hey, look, a spider! A zebra spider, I think."  
"Yeah? Oh, this is Webster. He's actually really smart."  
"Wait, he's your spider? Why would you keep such a small thing as a pet?"  
"As I said, he's smart. I put him on a maze and he got to the exit on his own."  
Webster puffed up, proud of himself, and crawled up on the girl's slender hand when she extended it to prove himself.  
"Hmm, yep," Emily exclaimed after taking a closer look, "zebra spider. You should hide him before a girl sees him and screams, these ones are jumpers."  
"Yes," George laughed, "I've noticed."


	5. Fair’s Fair

Emily grinned and took one last look at Webster before grabbing George's hand, letting Webster walk to him. George's heart raced a little when their hands touched, but he let go as quickly as possible to limit his awkwardness. With the spider in hand, he turned away and deposited him into a small pocket of his bag where he, hopefully, wouldn't cause anyone any trouble. It was good timing, as the bell rang and the teacher entered the room soon after.  
The teacher clapped to get the class' attention, then spoke in an authoritative, booming voice.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning. We have completed all of the review work and can now move on to new content, but, first, I have an announcement. Most of you will not give thought to this information for some time, but, regardless, I have to announce that participation in the science fair in February is mandatory." The teacher paused, giving students a moment to groan.  
"While you are biology students, you may do your project on any area of scientific study, as long as it is an area of scientific study." He looked very intently at the group of more frivolous and less focused students in the back of the class, letting them know that he was speaking to them. "This is not a culture fair and any project mentioning Michael Jackson will automatically fail, barring miracles. You may work alone or with a partner. You will not be given class time to work on your project." He nodded, satisfied, and sat at his desk, holding up a stack of booklets. "Now that that is over with, an introduction to the new unit. Miss Moss, please hand one out to each person."  
George was doodling in the margins of his notebook, but Emily watched as the tall girl rose from her spot in the front row and confidently approached the teacher, taking the stack of papers and methodically passing an appropriate amount of booklets to the nearest person at each desk. Emily put her hand to her chin.   
"George," she began, tapping her classmate on the shoulder, "she's pretty cool, Isn't she?"  
George looked up from his book. "Sorry, who?"  
"Lillian Moss," Emily said quietly. The girl was making her way towards their desk.  
"Oh, yeah, sure," George nodded, smiling at Lillian as she handed Emily their booklets.   
"Thank you," both said. Once Lillian was out of earshot, they resumed talking.  
"I guess she is kinda mysterious. She just sort of appeared this year."  
"Well I was talking about her confidence. She always speaks her mind."  
"Well, so do you," George smiled to Emily, who smirked back.  
"Are you calling me cool, sir?"  
"Sure I am, why shouldn't I? Everyone loves you."   
Hearing the chatter from the two students grow louder and more enthusiastic, the teacher let loose that voice of his. "Crabtree, Grace, silence!"  
The teacher glared at George who flushed nervously and Emily who smiled a little, then both, as they, somewhat reluctantly, got to work.  
In the last two minutes of class, students were packing up and chattering, to the annoyance, but understanding of the teacher. George took the opportunity to talk to his desk mate. "Say, Emily, want to be science fair partners?"  
"Hmm." She considered his proposal, tightening her thick, soft braid as she did so. "Alright, if no better offers come along." The bell rang. She pulled a red elastic off of her wrist and tied up her hair, then walked away, leaving George far behind, relieved.  
After biology came math. With William's occasional tutorial, George managed to be good at math. Didn't mean he liked it.  
After math came English, already creating what most students and guidance counsellors would call a tough semester. George didn't feel this way, however. He saw English as a magical, sparkling oasis in the dark, enchanted cave that was his school day.   
The classroom was unconventional. There was no strict seating plan except for misbehaving students and the desks were pushed together so students could discuss, face to face. The teacher appreciated the same things about the English language as George, admiring not it's construction or its use, but its potential.  
Two classes previous, George had finished his essay on Orwell's 1984, so he was tasked with helping other students, but, between his conversations, there was time for George to daydream and write short stories. This story was about spiders.  
George had written five words when Henry tapped him on the shoulder from across the table.  
"Oh hey, Henry. Need help?"  
"Where were you this morning, dude? We waited for you." Henry didn't look angry, just a bit annoyed.  
"Sorry. My aunts made me stay for breakfast. And all that it entails."  
"Oh. That's okay." Henry put his hand to his chin in thought. "Who was cooking?"  
"Um," George looked puzzled. "Aunt Petunia. Why do you ask?"  
"Are there leftovers?"  
He laughed. "I don't know, maybe. I'll check after school, but don't get your hopes up."  
Disappointed, Henry rocked back in his seat, about to speak again, when his thoughts were interrupted by the quiet voice of the teacher.  
"Quiet down please, boys, others are trying to work." The two students nodded in response. "And Henry, stop rocking in your chair. We wouldn't want you to fall again."  
George was embarrassed, flushing and getting back to work. Henry sat forward. He grabbed his pen and looked down at his essay for just a short moment before reaching over the table and tapping George on the shoulder once more.  
"I do also need help, actually."  
With the ring of the next bell, the students flooded into the halls and migrated to the cafeteria, the whole school booming with the noise of teenage freedom. George and Henry took a seat at their regular table, second closest to the door, on the side of the room with windows. The tables around him were filling fast with people he knew only by name. His table, or as he sometimes referred to it as, the island, had a small community and no bars on absurdity. Citizens of the island were close knit, united by unique culture formed by isolation.  
A few minutes passed until Slugger joined the other boys.  
"You didn't come on time this morning, George. I mean, neither did Henry, but at least he got here on time to hang out for a minute."  
"I know, I'm sorry." George's eyes were drawn to Slugger's white plaster wrist cast scattered with names of members of various sports teams. And Henry's, of course. George grabbed a marker from his bag and leaned over the table, scribbling his name on the back of Slugger's hand. Once George finished, Slugger smiled smugly, crossing his arms.  
"You can't just not show up, George, we're friends. You-"  
"Yeah, yeah, I think I know where this is going," George laughed as he stood and started his way over to the soda machine to get his friend a Pepsi.


End file.
